


worth it

by hufflebee



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Friendship, Kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2018-03-21
Packaged: 2019-04-05 17:39:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14049417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hufflebee/pseuds/hufflebee
Summary: Her phone vibrates beside her hand on the desk, and she smiles at Alec’s name on the screen.“Hello,” Aline says as she picks up the phone.“Hi, it’s Alec, I hope I’m not calling too early,” he says, sounding barely awake himself. “I just wanted to let you know that as thankful as I am for the offer, I’ll have to refuse the position on the Council.”(missing scene/addition to 3x01)





	worth it

**Author's Note:**

> [my tumblr](https://www.hufflebee.tumblr.com)

The sun has barely risen, but Aline is already in her office, because as elated as everyone is about Valentine’s death, saving the world results in a lot of paperwork. She’s trying as much as she can to help her mother settle into her new position and clean up the messes left behind, and if it serves as a distraction from her personal problems, all the better.

Her phone vibrates beside her hand on the desk, and she smiles at Alec’s name on the screen.

“Hello,” Aline says as she picks up the phone.

“Hi, it’s Alec, I hope I’m not calling too early,” he says, sounding barely awake himself. “I just wanted to let you know that as thankful as I am for the offer, I’ll have to refuse the position on the Council.”

Before she can respond, she hears someone say something in the background, though they’re too quiet for Aline to decipher what is going on. But the identity of the person doesn’t stay a mystery for long.

“I’m just talking to Aline, I’ll be there in a minute, babe,” Alec says, voice soft and loving. She’s only heard him talk about Magnus once, but she already knows this is his Magnus voice, and it makes Aline’s heart tighten. “Sorry, I’m back.”

“No worries,” Aline says. “I’m sorry to hear I won’t be seeing you around here more, but if you’re sure, then I wish you luck with the Institute.”

“I’m sure. There is work to be done here, work I need to do as Head of the Institute, and also,” he stops, and Aline can hear the smile in his face when he continues. “I don’t want to be without him, ever again.”

She thinks back to the time she first met Alec, the quiet, hard-working, eldest child of Maryse and Robert Lightwood. They’d clicked from the beginning, but even around her, even around his sister, Alec had had this deep sadness about him, as if the weight of the world was on his shoulder. In a way it was, Aline supposes, but it was more than just the pressures of being the oldest.

It became clear to her at one point, what that more was. She recognized it because she’d found it in herself, as well. But it was not something she dared to talk about, and time went on and so did they, each setting upon their own path.

When she first heard of what had happened at Alec’s wedding, Aline hadn’t spoken to anyone for days, trying to make sense of the whirlwind of pride, joy, and fear in her heart. Fear for Alec as much as herself. The fear that faded away bit by bit, especially when she heard Alec had been appointed Head of the Institute, and it almost vanished entirely when she saw him in New York.

The heaviness, the deep-rooted sadness he’d always carried with him, was gone. He was smiling, he wasn’t trying to blend into the background, and he seemed more at ease than Aline had ever seen him. And, by the Angel, when Izzy had brought up Magnus, he lit up like the brightest star in the sky.

And now: _I don’t want to be without him_.

She’s barely aware of the tears slowly falling down her cheeks. She wishes she had talked to him then, about Magnus, about this fear inside of her, about Helen, about all of this, because he’s the only person Aline is sure would get it, all of it. She still could, she knows, but it’s not a conversation one has over the phone.

“Aline, you okay?” Alec asks, breaking her out of her thoughts.

“Yeah, just got caught up in my thoughts for a moment,” she says, and then adds, after a moment’s hesitation. “You really love him, don’t you?”

“More than anything.”

“So it was worth it? All of it?”

“Worth every moment. And not just because of Magnus, although he’s a big part of that. It was as if I was holding my breath all my life, and he helped me exhale, helped me breathe freely, around him, around my family, even when I’m by myself. So yeah, it was worth it. This, him, it’s worth everything.”

 

* * *

 

Aline can barely focus on her work for the rest of the day, thoughts going back to her conversation with Alec, or to Helen, who hasn’t sent even a text the entire day. The sun is barely starting to set when Aline gives up, and picks up her things before stepping out of the office. She just barely exchanges greetings with anyone she runs into, and then she’s out on the streets of Alicante.

The walk to Helen’s house is short, giving her barely enough time to gather her thoughts. She knocks when she reaches the door, and is relieved when Helen opens the door.

“Aline, hi,” she says, eyes going behind her, as if scanning the street for anyone who might see them. Aline pushes past her inside, and Helen shuts the door behind her. The house is quiet, and the fact that Helen isn’t rushing them to her room tells Aline that they’re alone.

“I love you,” Aline says. It’s not the first time she’s said it, but all other times have been whispers in the dark, words kissed into Helen’s skin. She’s never said it so openly before, in a space not made for hiding. “And I know you’re scared. I’m scared, too. But you and me, that seems worth facing that fear.”

Helen watches her with an unreadable expression, and Aline feels herself holding her breath, waiting for a reaction. Waiting for her heart to be broken or accepted.

“You’re right. I know you are, the fear just gets too much sometimes,” Helen says, so softly that Aline almost misses it. “But I love you, too, and that’s worth more than what we’ve been giving it. “

Aline breathes out, the breath turning into a joyous laugh and she crosses the distance between them, wrapping Helen up in her arms. She pulls back only enough to kiss her, again and again, not being able to get enough of kissing her. “Baby steps though, we can’t all be Alec Lightwood.”

Barking out a laugh, Aline hugs Helen close, resting her forehead against her. She knows the hard part is yet to come, but right now, with Helen in her arms, smiling at her like that, Aline feels ready to face anything.


End file.
